


love with every stranger, the stranger the better

by persephonerights



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, gbbo au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:21:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26279356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/persephonerights/pseuds/persephonerights
Summary: At least her life would never be boring again.Sansa hadn't anticipated loving being in the Bake Off Tent as much as she did, and there was no way she could've predicted what would come out of the weekends spent in the Reach. Or the blossoming relationship that everyone could see coming except for the people in it.It's a Sansaery GBBO AU! Title from Someone New by Hozier
Relationships: Implied Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth - Relationship, Sansa Stark/Margaery Tyrell
Comments: 34
Kudos: 95





	1. Episode One

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Great Westerosi Bake Off](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21197507) by [alltheprettylittlewolves](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alltheprettylittlewolves/pseuds/alltheprettylittlewolves). 



> I really hope everyone likes this! And you all should definitely read the work this was inspired by! They did such a wonderful job of the Cersei and Sansa dynamic that I really wanted to see what it would be like here too!

The train to the Reach chugged on, completely ignorant to Sansa’s own anxiety. The rolling hills outside her window didn’t help as she got closer to the Reach If anything, the knowledge that she was almost there made her more nervous about this weekend. 

Sansa couldn’t believe she was going to be in the Bake Off Tent within the next couple of hours. Her siblings had convinced her to apply for the program, and she was so grateful she had listened to them, even if she was nervous as hell.

She had chosen not to tell her parents that she was going to be on it, but if she went on past the first week she would call them. 

In an effort to distract herself, Sansa opened the Starkling groupchat. 

**_Arya_ ** _: If anyone messes with you Sansa just give me the word_

 **_Arya_ ** _: I mean it_

 **_Robb_ ** _: For the record, not murder_

 **_Robb_ ** _: just bodily harm_

 **_Arya_ ** _: no. murder._

 **_Bran_ ** _: ignore them Sansa, you’re going to do amazing, and no one’s going to give you shit_

 **_Bran_ ** _: but if they do, just give us the word_

 **_Sansa_ ** _: listen i love you guys_

 **_Sansa_ ** _: but this is not helpful_

The usual _sorry sansa_ ’s came in, and right afterwards Rickon made sure to send a message.

 **_Rickon_ ** _: you’re going to kick their asses!! ruin them!!_

 **_Robb_ ** _: asdkfjk Rickon!! Sansa just said that wouldn’t help_

 **_Arya_ ** _: hell yeah she is!!_

Sansa laughed quietly, aware she was still on a public train before responding to Rickon.

 **_Sansa_ ** _: don’t worry about it Robb, Rickon’s actually being helpful_

 **_Sansa_ ** _: i do plan on ruining their asses_

 **_Bran_ ** _: that’s the spirit!_

 **_Bran_ ** _: good luck, you fr got this_

Her spirits suitably raised, Sansa was content to spend the rest of the train ride gazing out the window taking deep, calming breaths. With her siblings supporting her she knew she could accomplish anything - and that included taking Cersei and Varys head on. Especially since Arya was in a mood lately, ever since she met that mechanic in Flea Bottom and didn’t get his number. 

She tried to distract herself again by putting in her headphones and listening to a podcast. Before she knew it the train was rattling to a sudden stop - she was here. In the Reach. And now all she had to do was grab an uber to the hotel. Her time at Bake Off was about to officially begin. 

Sansa couldn’t quit fiddling with the name tag that was stuck to her shirt, and she looked around to see if anyone else was doing the same. The tent was magnificent up close - even if it was dark outside and they were here purely to socialize.

She was surrounded by the other bakers that were going to be in the tent. She knew she had to memorize their names, and she couldn’t rely on her siblings funny but inappropriate nicknames to do it. She would miss hearing her mum’s outraged reactions at what they came up with this year, since she’s sure they won’t be as creative since Sansa knows these people. 

The producers clearly wanted them all to be friends, so memorizing names and faces was very important. So she looked at the names with purpose: Oberyn, Margaery, Jon, Tormund, Lyanna, Nan, Edd, Shireen, Shae, Davos, and Gendry. 

They were all mingling about when Sansa was about to get up from her corner and join them, hopefully bringing the quiet girl, Shireen, with her. Before she got the chance, a young woman with curly blonde hair bounced into the middle of the room, followed by a man who could only be a couple of years older than Sansa. 

Sansa got into baking four years ago, when her mum got cancer. She had planned on stepping into a new chapter in her life as a wedding planner, so she began to get overwhelmed. Between helping her mum and working long hours she needed something to calm down. And then her mum started to show her family recipes, in case she wouldn’t be able to make them for much longer.

When Sansa baked, her other worries fade away. She got to truly focus on one thing that wasn’t the problems in her life, it presented its own challenges, sure, but overall it made her feel better. Thankfully, Sansa’s mum had gone into remission a year ago, and for eight months has officially been in ‘complete remission’, and the family was hopeful. 

“Hi! We’re your production assistants, Myrcella and Podrick, and we’ll be doing most of your interviews and camera work! We’re excited to work with you guys.”

The man, Podrick, then began to speak, “Now, as you guys know, friendship is important on the show so we’re going to go around,” when groans rang out across the room he held up his hands and motioned for everyone to quiet down, “I know, I understand. Most of you guys thought you outgrew this in grade school, well, I guess not you Shireen and Lyanna. But we still want you to go around and say what you do for a living and where you live.”

Podrick pointed at Oberyn to start and the man straightened up to say, “My name is Oberyn and I’m in...the family business. I’m from Dorne.”

From there people began to around and Sansa tried to catch it all - Lyanna and Shireen were both students, and Jon and Edd had both been in the military but had since moved onto other careers. She had seen Tormund on the train ride here, he’s a lumberjack in the North and he looked the part. Nan was a retired nurse, while Shae was currently a midwife. Davos and Gendry were both originally from Flea Bottom, but had very different career paths. Gendry was a...mechanic. Hm. 

It was Margaery’s turn next, then Sansa would be last. Margaery was a gorgeous brunette, her curly brown hair went with her dark brown eyes. “Well, I’m Margaery and I’m actually from Highgarden, and I’m a florist with my grandmother.”

Sansa laughed as it became her turn, “What a good turn of events. My name is Sansa and I’m a wedding planner from Winterfell. I wonder if we’ve ever run into each other at work.” 

Margaery laughed, “I’m sure we would remember each other.”

Before they had a chance to talk much longer Myrcella and Podrick were telling everyone to disperse, a bus would be here for them in half an hour. Sansa and Margaery immediately approached each other. “Have you heard of the florist Olenna Tyrell?”

“Oh my god is that your grandmother? Of course I have! She’s the Queen of Roses.”

Margaery rolled her eyes, goodnaturedly, before responding, “Oh god she just can’t get over that one. I hear about it all the time. But eventually I’ll be the queen of roses.”

There was something about her confidence that made Sansa believe her, “Well maybe you’ll be the queen of rose bakes.” She raised her eyebrows, as if she was expecting a challenge.

Instead, she got a laugh in return, “Maybe I will.” 

Their conversation was about to continue before they were interrupted by Tormund yelling, “Sansa! Margaery! Hurry up and come over here, we’re going to play Would You Rather!”

The two women hurried over, looking at each other, glad to have the company.

Sitting in front of a camera would never get easier for Sansa, she could already tell that. She sat in her chair and smiled her best smile, and she had worn a nice pink blouse, one that wouldn’t make her overheat. 

The blonde, Myrcella, was behind the camera. “Don’t forget, look at me and I’ll direct you to look at the camera when it’s time. I’m going to ask you some basic questions, totally painless.”

She was clearly trying to be reassuring and Sansa decided faking it until she made it would have to be her motto while in the tent. Right as Myrcella began to speak again something happened behind Sansa that had her snapping her head around at the same time that Myrcella looked too. 

Edd had revealed himself as a stuntman the night before, but Sansa was shocked to see him and Jon wrestling the grass. 

“Pod!” Myrcella yelled.”Are you seeing this?”

“We already have a camera on it!” 

“Should someone...stop them?” Sansa couldn’t help but ask. 

Myrcella just, “Eh. They’ll figure it out.” And then shrugged. “Back to the interview!”

This would take some getting used to.

Sansa wants to shake all the nerves out of her body but she was well aware of the cameras on her, and didn’t want to embarrass herself. She was behind a bench for the first time, she nearly pinched herself to make it feel real, but she didn’t want to be caught doing that either. The constant awareness was going to get old.

She was placed behind Margaery and next to Tormund. Margaery turned around and gave everyone a big thumbs up, right as Jaime and Brienne walked around trailed by Cersei and Varys. Sansa took another deep breath. 

Brienne and Jaime gave everyone wide smiles, people weren’t exaggerating his beauty, even if he wasn’t Sansa’s type. “Well, welcome to the Great Westerosi Bake Off, bakers!”

“This week is Cake Week,” Brienne looked around the tent, and her smile was just a tad bit kinder than everyone else’s, “and for your first every signature bake, Cersei and Varys would like you each to make a madeira cake.”

“Surely there must be some kind of catch, it doesn’t have three tiers or elaborate icing?”

“No, just a simple, madeira cake. And for the first time ever, on your marks…”

“Get set…”

The two yelled at once, “Bake!”

Sansa immediately started getting her ingredients exactly how she wanted them for her madeira cake with candied lemons, the whole lemon cake would be lemon flavored, which is her favorite flavor for any dessert. It may have been a traditional flavoring, but Sansa was confident she could make it just right. 

As she was shaving her lemons, her bench was approached by the twins and Varys. She tried to give a smile, “Hello.”

“Hello, Sansa,” Jaime said and gave her a smile of his own, though he was much more confident.

“What’re you working on?” Varys waved at the ingredients she had spread out. 

“I’m making a traditional madeira cake with candied lemons on top.”

“Aren’t you afraid that’s too...safe?” Cersei asked. 

Sansa’s face heated slightly, she had actually been worried about that, but she had been able to reassure herself. But now those feelings were coming back. “Normally I would, but lemon is my favorite flavor in desserts, so this is something that I’ve had probably a hundred times, so hopefully I know what it’s supposed to taste like.”

Cersei hummed before looking over to Varys, as if expecting a harsh judgment from him too.”Traditional can be very good, especially if done correctly.”

He smiled at Sansa, but she had a hard time smiling back, suddenly anxious. Except as they moved on Tormund boomed from the next table over, “Don’t worry Sansa! Do you know what old Northern traditions say about us redheads?”

“No, what do they say?”

“They say we’re lucky, kissed by fire. So keep your chin up.”

Gendry came over and stood over Sansa as she sat in front of her oven, “Is it okay if I join you?”

“Sure, why?”

He joined her on the floor and held up a timer, “The longer I look at the oven the more nervous I get. So I was hoping I could come here and stare at someone else’s.”

Sansa laughed, “Glad to be of help.”

Oberyn walked over soon and afterwards, and sat on the other side of Sansa. “I heard a party over here, and I could never turn down a party.”

“I’m not sure if I’m party company right now.”

“Well when I bake it’s always a party,” Oberyn winked and Sansa laughed. 

Gendry looked over and at Oberyn, even if he gave the camera a quick glance, “Did I hear you say that you had eight daughters earlier? Of course it’s a party when you bake.”

“Yes, I do have eight daughters, and they do make it hectic, but worth it. What about you Sansa, have any kids?”

She laughed, “No, I don’t, but do have three younger siblings who make baking chaotic in a different way.”

“Oh isn’t that true. As a younger sibling I was the worst when Doran wanted to get things done.”

Sansa turned to Gendry, “What about you? Kids? Siblings?”

“No,” Gendry shook his head. “Just me and mum. Except the guys at the shop enjoy when I bring in things I bake, even if I got ribbing for a while about it.”

Sansa nodded, “Well it’s a good thing you kept doing it. Look at you now!”

The tips of his ears got red and Gendry ducked his head, making Oberyn laugh, “Yeah. Look at me now, sitting on the floor in front of an oven.” 

That sent all of them into a laughing fit, the kind that’s slightly hysterical with nerves. It was only broken up when Gendry’s timer went off and they all went about their own business.

Time was closing in on the bakers and Sansa was feeling the pressure. Brienne called for ten minutes as she was putting the finishing touches on her madeira cake, carefully arranging the candied lemons on top. When she was satisfied with her work she took a step back to look over it, her hands clasped in front of her.

Sansa took the time to look around and see where the other bakers were. In front of her, Margaery was struggling to finish her edible roses in time, and Sansa couldn’t just watch another person struggle. So she rushed forward and stood on the front side of Margaery’s bench, “What do you need help with?”

“Are you finished?”

“Yes, now please let me help.”

Margaery was clearly glad for Sthe help because she sighed in relief, “Here. Please just help me make them look nice on top.”

As Margaery finished the roses, Sansa took them and delicately arranged them on top, making them look as perfect as she could. 

“Okay bakers! Step away from your cakes!”

Sansa put her hands up, as did Margaery, and they both took dramatic steps back from the bench. They made eye contact after their display and started laughing, “You’re a _lifesaver_ Sansa!”

Doing a fake little bow, Sansa responded through her laughs, “Always happy to be of service.” And then returned to her own bench but gave Margaery a pointed smile that she returned. 

Now that she was back to her own bench Sansa’s nerves returned, and she sat on her stool anxiously, awaiting the judges’ comments.

Shireen faced judgment first - and her cake received mixed comments. Varys liked the taste of her almond liqueur and chopped apricots madeira but Cersei had wished there was more alcohol in it.

Shocking.

In the face of their judgments Shireen had sat tall and just smiled, even when Cersei made comments about the flavoring. She _had_ been complimented on the size of her chopped apricots, they were nicely distributed throughout the cake. 

The closer they got to Sansa the worse she felt - and now they were at Margaery. 

Brienne was walking with Varys and Cersei, towering over the two of them, “Now, please remind us of what kind of madeira cake you made today.”

“Well I made a pistachio and rose madeira cake. I enjoy the flavors and thought they’d go well together.”

Every time someone got judged it was felt as if the tent itself was holding its breath, and it only released when the judges took the first bite. Varys began to nod as soon as he took a bite and Margaery slouched forward a bit before she caught herself and straightened up again.

Varys continued to nod while giving his judgments, “I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting the rose flavor to come through, it’s a very difficult balance but you’ve managed to do it.”

Cersei waited a beat before speaking, “I also enjoy the roses actually, I didn’t think I would. The decorations on top are lovely, very delicately done.”

Despite not being able to see her face, Sansa could _feel_ Margaery’s smile from where she was sitting. As soon as the judges moved away Margaery whipped her head around and Sansa was right, she was positively beaming, and gave her two thumbs up. 

Even though the judges were moving on to her, it made Sansa feel a bit better that she had Margaery in her corner.

“Hello Sansa.”

“Hello Brienne.”

Sansa forced herself to smile and to meet the judges eyes confidently. Varys picked up a couple of candied lemons from the top of Sansa’s cake and dropped them onto the plate in front of him. The clink on the plate relaxed Sansa even more, it was exactly how she wanted it. 

“That’s a very good sound Sansa.”

“Thank you,” she replied, a slight wobble in her voice. Sansa had often been told that she carried tension in her shoulders - and after this week she’d need to go get a massage to get over how tight she was.

As the judges (and Brienne and Jaime) took their first bites Sansa studied their reactions closely. Varys didn’t give much away but Jaime raised his eyebrows in approval, and surprise. But Sansa zeroed in on Cersei, hoping she didn’t think it was all that boring. 

Cersei closed her eyes and opened them before speaking, “I actually enjoy this. You’ve managed to keep it classic, yet you’ve baked it quite nicely.”

“I think what she’s trying to say is, Sansa, you managed to take a classic bake and make it quite good, and the lemon comes through amazingly. Did you zest your lemons?”

“Yes, and included lemons in the glaze, along with the candied lemons.”

“Were you scared of the lemon being overpowering?” Cersei suddenly asked, as if it was weird for a madeira cake to have that much lemon.

“No. Citrus is my favorite dessert flavor.”

“Hm.”

“Well done Sansa,” Varys said as he gave her a nod and began to move past her bench and Cersei followed him.

They walked away right as Jaime leaned forward conspiratorially, “I really liked it Sansa.”

Sansa leaned forward to match him, “Thank you.”

He smiled at her as he moved along and she finally breathed again, Margaery turned around and Sansa returned her double thumbs up, proud of her first bake. 

“Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out,” Margaery repeated as other bakers gathered around her and shook their limbs. Sansa joined them, laughing, but grateful that someone else had the idea so she didn’t look ridiculous doing it by herself. 

Even though the cameras were on them Sansa didn’t care as she, Margaery, Gendry, Lyanna, Oberyn, and Shae shook the nerves out. They all laughed with each other and they were about to manage to get Jon to join them, and maybe even Edd, as Brienne, Jaime, Varys, and Cersei walked into the room and they dispersed.

Jaime looked at all of them in shock as they all laughed, “Whose fault was this?” 

“Margaery!” Oberyn was quick to point out and she turned around to stick her tongue out at him. It was crazy how quickly they all became friends.

“Well everyone!” Brienne said, quick to get back on track. “It’s time for you first ever technical.”

“This task was assigned by Cersei, any advice for the bakers?”

“Read the directions carefully.”

“Well! Thank you for those vague directions!” Jaime looked out at the bakers as she said it. “This is judged blind so Varys and Cersei, I’m going to have to ask you both to leave. Enjoy your roller derby lessons! They’re mean ones on the rink.”

Everyone gave polite laughs to Jaime’s joke, but there was a nervous tinge to it. When Cersei and Varys had cleared the tent, Brienne picked up where Jaime left off, “Today Varys and Cersei have asked you all to make a frosted walnut layer cake. In one and three quarter hours.”

“Good luck! On your marks!”

“Get set!”

In unison they yelled, “Bake!”

Sansa immediately grabbed the directions, deciding they needed to be read thoroughly before she started doing anything serious. As she looked it over she grew more and more concerned, despite the fact that she vaguely recognized it. It just seemed like a lot to get done in the time allotted.

After grasping the vague concepts, she began to bake. Time moved weird in the tent. She was so focused on her own three sponges, meringue, and caramel that she had no energy to pay attention to what others were doing. 

The tension in the tent was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Well, it was until Oberyn gave a quite natural reaction to what they were being asked to do. 

“Ugh! I hate caramelizing _nuts_!”

There was a smattering of laughter that only increased when Shae responded in a sing-song voice, “That’s not what I heard.”

The rest of the baking went by quickly, and before Sansa knew it was placing her caramelized walnuts on the top of her cake and was walking it up to the gingham altar. 

Sitting on a stool in front of a row of twelve cakes gave Sansa a weird sensation. Her heart sat low in her stomach but she couldn’t help but sit with a straight back and chin held high. She knew that whatever happened she had tried her best. But what if her best wasn’t good enough?

The judges went down the line and tried all of the cakes, making comments as they went. When the ranking began Sansa and Margaery grabbed hands, trying to be comforting. Edd Tollett was sadly placed last, seeing as his meringue was heavily over baked. Sansa received third place, and she was very happy with that. When Margaery was announced as first Sansa dropped her hand to let her raise her hand proudly, and then pulled her into a hug.

Maybe red hair really did give her luck.

The bakers were slow to walk into the tent the morning of the first showstopper - Sansa had brought her tea with her for the extra boost of caffeine. As the bakers tiredly smiled at each other, there was a sense of camaraderie. 

No one else will ever have this exact experience with Sansa again, and she was grateful she had the people she did. Sometimes Sansa forgot that it was a competition - something that never came easy to her. She loved winning. 

Soon enough Jaime, Brienne, Cersei, and Varys filed in to stand at the front of the tent. Despite the early hour the hosts seemed to be wide awake. “Good morning!” Jaime said, and his enthusiasm nearly made Sansa angry.

Everyone parroted the phrase back at him and so he continued with the usual spiel, “Welcome to showstopper day! Cersei and Varys would like you all to make a Black Forest Gateau cake!”

Brienne picked up where he left off, “This cake should be extravagant and impress Cersei and Varys.”

“You have three and a half hours...”

“Get ready…”

“Set…”

“Bake!”

For the rest of her life, Sansa will have a gut reaction to hearing Jaime and Brienne’s voices say that word. Nothing could make her snap into baking mode faster. 

She was so into the mood, she almost didn’t notice when her bench was approached. She had so much to do, and so little time to do it.

“Hello Sansa!” Brienne said, and Sansa jumped. 

“Hello Brienne!”

“Tell us what you’re working on.”

“Well, I’m making an enchanted forest gateau, and I’ll decorate it with chocolate bark trees. Nothing boring here!”

Usually the judges responded well to a bit of teasing, but while everyone else laughed Cersei simply stared at her, and Sansa just gazed back, smiling. Beat them with kindness. And perfectly timed bakes. 

“Well we’re glad to hear it,” Varys was quick to make up for his fellow judge’s silence. “Good luck Sansa.”

“Thank you.”

Finally at peace she got back to her bake, and rolled her shoulders. As if rolling off the bad vibes. Back to work.

“Five more minutes!”

Literally the worst thing Sansa could’ve heard right then. She was sprinkling the extra cocoa powder on the top of her cake when she heard something strange on the other side of the tent. She snapped her head around and saw that Edd’s decorations had collapsed. He looked devastated and she felt the need to rush over and help, but before she got the chance Jon and Shireen were already there. 

As bad as she felt for Edd, she knew she had to get done herself. Before she knew it, time was being called and she had to step away. 

“Okay everyone! We’re going to start calling people to bring their bakes to the _gingham altar_.” To lighten the mood Jaime made dramatic arm movements and Brienne rolled her eyes, equally as dramatic. 

Bakers began to get called to the front, Margaery was first, and the judges seemed to have liked her flavors, and they especially liked how neat her decorations were. 

Sadly, it was an entirely different story for poor Edd, whose decorations had collapsed. His face barely gave away his reactions to the harsh judging, but when he turned around Sansa could tell he was disappointed. 

It was her turn next and her arms were shaking so badly, she was scared she would drop her cake. It was covered in a dark icing, with thin chocolate bark, shaped like trees, standing on the top. She had topped it off by sprinkling cocoa powder on top, to add an extra layer of flavor. 

“Sansa, please remind us of what you made.”

“This is an enchanted forest gateau cake. The cake itself is made of cherry and chocolate sponge and it’s covered in a chocolate glaze. It’s also topped with a sprinkling of cocoa powder.”

The judges had already cut into her cake during her explanation, and she clasped her hands in front of her as she awaited their judgment. 

“Your cake is very moist, I think the sprinkling on top did add some extra flavor,” Varys was quick to make his decision, but Cersei was still mulling it over.

“I’m going to be honest, I was nervous about your timing but the decoration was excellent...and your bake was very good.”

“Thank you.” Sansa blushed as she picked up her cake, grateful that the reviews had been good. Margaery gave her a small clap as she had passed her, similar to the one Sansa had given for her earlier.

Sansa sat down, hard and heavy. But glad she had managed to escape the wrath of Cersei and Varys, and hopefully she would be back next week to gain more praise.

Being able to sit down on a chair that wasn’t a bench was doing wonders for Sansa’s legs. Her and Margaery were sharing one of the loveseats on the outside patio. The other bakers were either milling about nervously or sitting on different seats around them. 

“You did really good today Margaery.”

“Awww, thank you. So did you.”

“Well thank you.”

The sat in silence for a couple of beats before Margaery spoke, “Is this your first time in the Reach?”

Sansa turned on the couch to look more directly at Margaery, “Yes, it is actually. And it’s gorgeous. Why?”

Margaery gasped and grabbed Sansa’s arm, clearly trying to be overdramatic. “Oh Sansa, darling, if you think this part is gorgeous you should see the rest.”

“Oh yeah? Gonna show me around?” Sansa said it jokingly, but the warm feeling she got when she said it made her suspect that she might like it more than originally thought. 

“Hell yeah I am, give me your phone, I’ll put my number in and we can coordinate a time to go.”

“Sounds good.” She quickly handed her phone over.

Both women were completely ignorant to the cameras on them, or the look Myrcella and Pod were sharing. 

The bakers were lined up on eleven stools in front of the judges and hosts, some holding hands, some not. But each one could tell the others were as anxious as they were. 

“We’ve enjoyed having you all in the tent with us this week,” Brienne started. “And as you know, each week we award one baker the title of Star Baker. And this week, the winner is the Queen of Baking Roses, Ms. Margaery Tyrell.”

Everyone clapped for Margaery, as Sansa squeezed her hand tighter. A light blush decorated Margaery’s cheeks. 

“That means that I have the awful job this week of announcing who sadly has to leave the tent. Even if we haven’t known each other long, this job is extremely difficult. This week, sadly, the person leaving us is Edd Tollett.”

The tent felt oddly solemn as everyone reached for him to console him. Old Nan got to him first and pulled him into a hug. Soon everyone was being pulled into hugs from all directions. First Sansa crushed Margaery into one, “I knew it. I knew you’d get it.”

“It’ll be your turn next.”

After their hug, Sansa went to hug Edd, wishing him luck in all his future endeavors.

The whirlwind of hugs that followed had Sansa even more grateful that she got to come back next week.

In a mere few hours Sansa was back on the train, and she was even able to find Jon and Tormund so that they could all ride together. 

They were engrossed in a serious conversation as Sansa sat down, and she pulled out her phone to text her brother.

 **_Sansa_ ** _: Robb_

 **_Sansa_ ** _: I think I’m actually having fun??_

 **_Robb_ ** _: of course you are_

 **_Robb_ ** _: not only are you having fun, you’re kicking ass while doing it!!_

 **_Robb_ ** _: okay so talisa said that was a bit too much_

 **_Robb_ ** _: but my point stands!!_

 **_Sansa_ ** _: thanks for the overenthusiastic encouragement_

 **_Sansa_ ** _: i love you_

 **_Robb_ ** _: love you too_

Sansa looked up from her phone to join Jon and Tormund’s conversation about...fermented goat milk? 

At least this train ride wouldn’t be boring.


	2. Episode Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter!!! Things begin to slowly grow between our two leading ladies and friendships are established!!

Sansa wondered if the train ride to the Reach would be less nerve wracking this time since she had Jon and Tormund with her. Maybe that would make her more nervous? Since she’d be with competitors?

She tried to push that out of her mind as she tried to find Jon and Tormund. Her week at work had been rough, some people had no boundaries when it came to other people’s weddings, and they were driving her up the wall. 

Tormund waved at her exuberantly from his and Jon’s booth. Sansa quickly made her way over to them and shoved her bag in the overhead area. She sat down and gave a half hearted smile, “Hey.”

Tormund smiled at her as she sat down, “You look like you had a rough week.” 

Sansa couldn’t help but laugh at the look Jon gave Tormund. It was a smiling shock. He closed his eyes and just chose not to mention it. It was the same face Robb made when Arya and Rickon did their thing. “I did have a rough week Tormund, thank you.”

“What happened? I love office gossip.”

“ _You_ love office gossip?” Jon asked, confused. 

“Well I certainly don’t get anyway where I work. So I have to get it from other people.”

“I’m sorry but I have no office gossip for you today. Just a horrible mother of the bride. I’m about to tear my hair out in frustration.”

Tormund laughed, “How bad can one mother be?”

Jon, a teacher, and Sansa made eye contact. Jon outright laughed which made Sansa start to laugh. 

“Take it from a teacher mate, it’s never just _one_ mom.”

“Everyday I hear a story about working with the public and get happier that I live in the woods.”

“Tormund,” Sansa started, “how did you get signed up for Bake Off?”

“My daughters insisted I apply, so I did.”

It was Sansa's turn to be shocked, "Daughters? I have to hear more."

After that the conversation turned to family, and how close (or not close) their families were. The time passed quickly on the train that Friday afternoon. Sansa was grateful she had found friends this quickly - and was ready for the weekend to begin. 

Myrcella watched as Shireen stood on the tree roots and tried to situate herself in front of the camera. The girl was shy and uncomfortable in front of the camera but Myrcella and Pod were trying to get her out of her shell.

“I’m about to start rolling, is that okay with you?” Myrcella wanted to give her a warning before the interview started.

“Yes! I’m good!”

Myrcella motioned for the cameras to start. “How do you feel about biscuit week?”

“I’m feeling good about biscuit week. I’ve been testing out my recipes and even my dad, who’s a picky eater, likes them.”

“Do you like making biscuits?”

“I like it okay. In my opinion, there are better things to make. Much better desserts.” 

“How does your dad feel about you being on Bake Off?”

“He thinks it’s a worthwhile use of my time while doing my studies,” Shireen smiles while saying it but Myrcella can see the exhaustion behind her eyes. And a hint of annoyance. 

It’s okay, they can cut this down later. 

Instead of jumping and shaking all her anxieties out like Sansa wanted to, she tried to just shake out her hands underneath the bench. Margaery was right in front of her again, and Sansa noticed how intricately her hair was done. The curls were “messy” but Sansa knew the effort that had to go into getting them to look perfectly imperfect. She had the style down to a T too. Effortlessly beautiful, but in reality hours went into her appearance. 

Studying Margaery’s hair and taking deep breaths calmed Sansa down. Her hands even stopped shaking. Huh. That didn’t happen to her very often. Right as her mind started to spiral with what _that_ meant, Jaime walked in. He was followed by Brienne, Cersei, and Varys. Jaime had such a genuine smile, it emphasized how ingenuine Cersei’s was. 

“Good morning bakers!” Jaime began, “And welcome to biscuit week!”

When he stops, Brienne steps in, “Today you have the opportunity to show off just how good your flavors are. We want to see how you mix-and-match to make the perfect biscotti.”

“So, bakers! You have two hours to make 24 identical biscotti of any shape, flavor, or size.”

“On your marks…”

“Get set…”

Jaime and Brienne looked at each other and then yelled, “Bake!”

Sansa immediately started reaching for her oranges and flour. She needed to get the flavors just right if she wanted to succeed in this challenge. As she was working to get everything measured out and grated, she could hear Margaery talking to the judges and hosts. She explained her flavors and the fact that she would call them Wedding Biscotti. 

“I make a lot of floral arrangements for weddings, and I’ve been to quite a few. And so many of them have the same snacks and nothing interesting happens there. So maybe people should start serving biscottis.”

Sansa couldn’t help but laugh, she knew exactly what she was talking about with weddings. Margaery turned around and that was when Sansa realized she didn’t laugh quietly. She blushed but looked up. 

“Have something to add Sansa?” Cersei asked with a raised eyebrow.

Before Sansa got a chance to respond, Margaery answered for her, “Sansa’s actually a wedding planner. I’m sure she has something interesting to add.”

“Oh, well. I just agree with Margaery that most brides are too scared to take risks. Flowers included.”

Margaery laughed at that, “The amount of fights my grandmother has gotten into with future mother-in-laws, telling them no one cares about their opinions. Even though I’m sure she was like that with my mother and father’s wedding.”

Thinking back to the things she’s heard about Ms. Olenna Tyrell, Sansa could totally see it. She and Margaery laughed together and Sansa felt the camera's focus on them. Varys laughed along with them, while Cersei just seemed annoyed by the whole thing. Even when Cersei cleared her throat Margaery’s smile didn’t falter. She just went back to focusing fully on her bake. Besides, there were no more questions to be asked about her bake, Jaime was already gesturing for Varys and Cersei to move on.

They moved on to Jon’s bench but Cersei’s gaze lingered on Margaery’s. Sansa tried to put it out of her mind and focus. She needed to peel her oranges while her almonds roasted in the oven. 

Soon, too soon, the group made their way to Sansa's bench and she looked up to smile at them, “Hello again.”

Brienne gave her a reassuring smile, almost like she was trying to show she had her back, “What’re you working on today?”

“Well today I’m making orange, rosemary, and almond biscotti, with a zabaglione dip.”

“Another citrus flavored bake?” Cersei said it with that smile on her face.

Varys gave her a side eye, “I happen to think lemons and oranges taste quite different, they aren’t the same.”

“I have to agree,” Sansa usually tried not to cause problems but he was right! They’re totally different flavors! “Besides, lemon is my favorite flavor for desserts. Usually I would do it two weeks in a row.”

Cersei just hummed and looked over Sansa’s ingredients. While she was looking, and judging, one of Sansa’s timers went off and she jumped into action, calling out what she was doing for the cameras. 

Brienne motioned for Varys and Cersei to move but Varys made sure to wish Sansa luck before being herded away. 

It felt like everything was in overdrive. Sansa was just dishing out her dip while Jaime called out that there were five minutes left. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, slowly letting it out. Panicking herself now would do no good. 

Once she calmed down she opened her eyes and moved on. She had brought a nice basket with her to place her biscottis in. She arranged them and peered around to look at what Margaery was doing. She was carefully arranging flowers in a vase beside a plate of biscottis. Of course.

Sansa went for a more simplistic design but she did put her dip into a short mason jar, going for a rustic feel. But it was purposeful. So it couldn’t be used as an insult. Because that’s what she expected it to be. 

Soon Brienne was yelling that time was up and Sansa stepped away, but her hands reached out, hesitating but then pulling back. Being done with a bake made Sansa feel like she was giving up her child to be judged. Judged _harshly_. 

While everyone before her was getting judged Sansa held a cup of tea in her hands, keeping them occupied. Gendry had made pistachio, cranberry, and white chocolate biscotti. For the most part the judges had good things to say, but his flavors weren’t very balanced. The white chocolate didn’t add much to the biscuit over all. 

The judges moved between the different benches, doling out comments as they went. They loved Oberyn’s almond and apricot biscotti. However, Shae’s white wine biscotti weren’t boosy enough for Cersei, and Varys thought the flavor left a bit to be desired. God, she wishes they’d hurry up and get to her and just get it over with.

The judges stopped before Margaery’s bench and oohed and aahed over her flowers. Obviously. Varys raved over flavors while Margaery beamed. Cersei reluctantly gave them her stamp of approval. 

Margaery turned to face Sansa, her smile looked like it hurt. Sansa smiled back, even if she was nervous about being judged next. Cersei and Varys approached Sansa’s bench, being trailed by Jaime, who gave her a smile. She tried to take a subtle deep breath.

“Remind us what we have here Sansa,” Varys prompted. 

“I have orange, rosemary, and almond biscotti, with a zabaglione dip.” She stood tense while they tried them and dipped them. Her hands were collapsed tight in front of her. 

Cersei wrinkled her nose and Sansa’s stomach sank, “You know? I didn’t think I was going to like them. But I think I do.”

Right as Sansa’s heart started to lift out of her stomach Varys smiled at her, “Well I _know_ I like it. All your flavors are excellent and the dip was very good. Thank you Sansa.” To the right of Varys Jaime had snuck a couple of biscottis away from her basket, giving Sansa a wink. She winked back. Cersei seemed to follow this with a close eye, but Brienne was just rolling her eyes with a slight smile. 

The group moved on from her bench and Margaery gave Sansa a small clap and Sansa just gave her a double thumbs up, very happy with the results.

Myrcella tried to control her face when Gendry was in front of the camera. He was frowning and genuinely looked upset. Talking to contestants who weren't doing great always made Myrcella feel bad, and she had to keep from frowning. 

“That didn’t go the way I hoped it would, to be quite honest. It’s hard not to be disappointed. I practiced whenever I had the chance, but sometimes it doesn’t go the way you want it to.”

“Are you looking forward to the technical?” Myrcella asked. Everyone got asked that question, but everyone had different responses.

“Honestly, I never am and never will be.”

“That’s fair.”

“Welcome bakers! To today’s technical challenge!” Brienne called, smiling. She was in the front of the tent with Jaime, Cersei, and Varys a half step behind her.

Jaime stepped up to stand beside Brienne, “Today’s technical challenge was set by Varys. Any words of advice for the bakers?”

“Flavor is everything.”

“Thank you for that!” Brienne gave the bakers an annoyed look. As if she understood how much it bothered them to get cryptic hints. “The technical bake is judged blind so off you pop Varys and Cersei! See you later!”

“They're going to take roller derby lessons. Cersei’s a mean one.” Jaime laughed as if he had said something shocking. Sansa wanted to say, _Trust us. We know how mean Cersei is._

“Today the judges want you to make eight arlettes, in two and a half hours.”

“The artlettes must be a good biscuit, with a nice snap!”

“Good luck bakers! On your mark…”

“Get set…”

“Bake!”

Sansa immediately lifted the gingham and grabbed for the directions. 

Jaime watched as all the bakers read the directions and looked over the ingredients. He and Brienne needed to know which bakers were going to excel and which ones were going to struggle - so they could focus on them. 

He noticed Lyanna’s stressed face right as Brienne noticed the way Sansa immediately got to work - which he could tell would be normal for them. Jaime and Brienne looked at each other and nodded, going to each of the girls individually. 

Jaime approached Lyanna a little hesitantly. The nineteen year old was hilarious - but also a little volatile. She was a good performer, and reminded him of himself at that age.

Lyanna definitely noticed the camera approaching her, but chose to ignore it. So this is how it was going to be. “So! Lyanna, have you ever heard of an arlette?”

“Yeah I’ve heard of ‘em, never made ‘em though. I know they’re thin and have rolls.”

“Well how’re you feeling about it?”

“Honestly? This bits gonna be shit, innit?” The question was clearly rhetorical, especially when she gave Jaime a look, that said ‘Why are you even asking me? Don’t you have better things to do?’

Jaime laughed, “I’ll let you get to it then.” Jaime and his cameraman left Lyanna alone, and tried to find another person to talk to without getting in their way.

This technical was grueling in terms of just questioning herself. Every time Sansa did something she tried to talk herself out of it, even if she was 90% sure she was right. She was humming underneath her breath to keep herself calm. The rolling was hard, so was getting the perfect mix of cinnamon and granulated sugar. So was making sure it was baked enough. 

Her humming got louder with her even noticing, she was so focused she didn’t even see the camera inching closer to her. Sansa was so focused on her work before something startled her out of it. Oberyn started humming along with her. She was humming a duet and Oberyn started humming the opposite part. 

Sansa turned to face him and he pretended like he didn’t notice. So she just kept humming. Oberyn and Sansa hummed together for a while, getting louder and louder, before Davos joined in and whistled along. 

The humming and whistling drew the attention of Jaime and Brienne, and the cameras. The three of them were surrounded but didn’t seem to care. The song came to a natural end and Jaime, Brienne, and a lot of their fellow bakers began to clap. Oberyn did a joking bow, and that made Sansa and Davos do bows of their own. 

Margaery’s bench was in front of Sansa and she turned around and said, “Yay Sansa! Yay Oberyn! Yay Davos!”

The moment of laughter was good to cut the tension in the room. The technical was still stressful but the moment elevated a lot of Sansa’s bad thoughts about her own abilities. She’s a good baker. One who’s practiced many different bakes and read so many of Varys’s and Cersei’s cook books. She had this. 

She refocused and buckled down. Today was the day she won the technical. 

“Three minutes left bakers! Just three minutes left!”

Sansa needed to get her arlettes on the plate and she needed to do it now. They were thin, with a mix of cinnamon and sugar covering them. After plating her arlettes before they were fully cool, Sansa sprinkled them with icing sugar. 

She tried to take calming breaths and make sure all the arlettes were perfectly even. God technicals were the worst. 

When Jaime called that time was up Sansa jumped away from her arlettes. Everyone took theirs up to the table at the front of the tent and then made their way to their benches. Margaery and Sansa sat next to each other, with Oberyn on the other side of Sansa. 

The judges entered the tent and approached the bakes. Sansa and Margaery squeezed each other’s hands as they began to eat. 

They went down the row, making their judgments. Gendry’s rolls were very loose and Sansa felt so bad, but Lyanna’s wasn’t much better. Oberyn’s got praised heavily, right before they were going to try Sansa’s.

As they tried them her whole body tightened, even if she tried to keep her face controlled. Varys laughed and pointed back at Oberyn’s bake, “Now if we thought those were good, these are amazing.”

“I hate to admit it Varys, you know I do, but I agree. The rolls look good and there’s a very nice mixture of cinnamon, it’s not too strong.”

“Very nice.”

Sansa knew she was blushing but she didn’t care. That went so well! She hardly ever got praise like that, at least from Cersei. 

The blood was rushing in her ears so much she didn’t even realize the judges were giving out rankings. Sadly Gendry placed last, and Lyanna was second to last. They were quickly followed by Jon, Tormund, Shae, Davos, Margaery, and Shireen.

Once the judges got to the top three they really started to stretch out making announcements. Margaery was gripping Sansa’s hand tightly. “In third place, was this one. Whose is it?” Cersei held her hand over Old Nan’s bake. She raised her hand.

“It was excellent,” Varys said. “But the rolls could’ve been a little tighter. And in second place, we have this one.” He gestured to...Oberyn’s. Oberyn raised his hand and Sansa leaned over to hug him as he got his feedback. She got first place! 

“And in first place...was this one.” Varys smiled at Sansa as she raised her hand and was crushed in between Margaery and Oberyn in a hug. She got first! She couldn’t believe it. It was a miracle. 

Later that night all the bakers were shoved in Oberyn’s hotel room, seeing as he invited anyone who wanted to come to hang out. Shireen had chosen to stay in her room and study, which was probably a good choice. Davos decided he was too young to hang out with all the “youngsters” despite Old Nan coming and Oberyn hosting everyone. 

Margaery brought a bottle of wine she had apparently brought with her and then a couple other bakers produced their own alcohol, Gendry included. 

It was about half an hour into the night, and Margaery, Sansa, Gendry, and Shae were all sitting together to the side. Oberyn kept his door propped open so people were coming and going. They had paper cups filled with their choice of alcohol, Sansa had already congratulated Margaery on her excellent taste in wine.

They had gotten onto the topic of careers when Gendry was once again brought up the fact that he was a mechanic in Flea Bottom. Sansa studied him for a second. His facial features started to match a description Sansa had bullied out of a certain sister of hers. 

“Gendry, not to interrupt, but did you once fix someone named Arya’s car?”

This threw him off, but after he thought for a second he sighed and nodded. “Yeah I have actually.”

Sansa cackled at his reaction, and her second full cup of wine. “You know,” she says once she’s calmed down, “she was right.”

Gendry looked confused, “Right about what?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Yeah I would actually.”

“Wait! I have to text her!” Sansa pulled out her phone and texted her sister.

**_Sansa_ ** _: Arya! You were right!_

 **_Sansa_ ** _: Gendry is kind of hot!!!_

**_Arya_ ** _: ?????_

 **_Arya_ ** _: where are you rn????_

**_Sansa_ ** _: I’m in my hotel!! Gendry is here!!!_

 **_Sansa_ ** _:_ [ _✨_ ](https://www.dictionary.com/e/emoji/sparkles-emoji/) _baking_ [ _✨_ ](https://www.dictionary.com/e/emoji/sparkles-emoji/)

While Arya had her breakdown Margaery looked over Sansa’s shoulder at her text messages and started laughing, then laid her head on her shoulder. Gendry looked concerned at whatever was happening but chose to ignore it and continue on with his customer horror stories. 

Every single person in this circle had one and they were all _hilarious_. Sadly, at some point, Oberyn did have to go to sleep and kicked them all out. Sansa and Margaery walked each other to their rooms, thankfully neither drank enough to truly be drunk, and so neither of them should have hangovers in the morning.

They got to Margaery’s door too soon for Sansa’s liking. As Margaery slowly closed the door she turned to Sansa, made eye contact, and smiled, “Goodnight.” 

Sansa’s knees nearly gave out despite not having that much to drink - she didn’t have time to think about what that meant just yet. So she went to sleep. 

The next morning came far too early. Sansa carefully braided her hair before making her way to the front of the hotel. The tent was going to be hot today and that wouldn’t be good for their biscuit boxes. 

The bus ride was surprisingly quiet, everyone was probably running through the bake in their minds. 

Once she was in the tent, after doing the morning portion of the interviews, the crew filed in as well. The tent was sweltering, just like Sansa predicted. Cameras were set, facing the front, just in time as Brienne, Jaime, Cersei, and Varys walked in. 

“Good morning bakers!” Jaime said, with a smile too bright for the time of day.”I hope you’re ready to literally stop the show today.”

Brienne took over at this point, “Today Cersei and Varys would like you all to make 36 biscuits. But! These biscuits must be presented in a biscuit box, and the biscuit box needs to be an entirely different kind of biscuit then the biscuits in the biscuit box.”

“They can be any size shape or flavor you desire! You all have four hours. On your marks…”

“Get set…”

“Bake!”

Sansa reached for her ingredients and buckled down for a very long and exhausting bake.

About 20 minutes into baking Sansa saw a camera pan to her, and knew she would be approached by the judges soon to talk about her bakes. She was right.

“Hello Sansa,” Varys said,

“Good morning Varys and Cersei.” Sansa tried her best to smile at them, despite how tense this bake was for her. 

“Tell us what you’re baking today Sansa,” Cersei said. If her voice was surprisingly curt, no one was going to say anything. 

“Well, I’m making a memory box! I’ll have a shortbread box filled with macarons.”

“What makes it a memory box?” Varys asked.

“I’m going to decorate the sides of the box with different memories of me and my family. I have four siblings so I have plenty of memories to choose from, and I’m going to include some of my dog Lady as well.”

“Well Sansa! Good luck.”

“Thank you!”

As soon as they walked away, Sansa began going to baking. Something that Margaery said to the judges had drawn Sansa’s attention. Was she making honey and lemon flavored shortbread?

“Margaery,” Sansa said, trying not to distract her too much.

Margaery turned around and looked at her, “Yeah?”

“Are you making something honey and lemon flavored?”

“Yes!”

“Those are my favorite flavors! You’ll have to save me one!”

Margaery’s response was immediate, “Oh you can eat anything you want honey,” and winked. 

Sansa laughed and blushed, “Bring it on.”

Unbeknownst to the two women, there was a camera in the distance focused solely on them and Myrcella and Podrick were making awkward eye contact. Should they even be filming this? Is this a joke? Or actual flirting?

The women went back to baking, but both of them had faint blushes on their cheeks.

There were 15 minutes left in the bake and the pressure was on. Sansa was trying to move along the build process. It was slow going beforehand, but now it was rush time. It became chaotic. 

The box looked quite nice actually, with images of her and her family on the sides. Her macarons weren’t perfect, of course they weren’t. They seemed nice though. She was tempted to eat one and test it out but then she wouldn’t have 36. 

Once her box was built she carefully placed her macarons inside of it, then placed the lid on top of it. The front of her box was a front door with her dog Lady to one side. Then on one side was her Mother and Father standing next to each other; the next side had Robb, Bran, and Rickon all together; and the final side had her and Arya standing next to each other, the height difference greatly exaggerated. 

There were two minutes left now and Sansa was left to study her box. Most people were still working, Sansa kind of wished she was one of them. At least to occupy her mind. Instead she was left just staring at a biscuit box. What a weird world. 

When Jaime yelled that time was up the tent came to a crashing halt. Everyone who had been frantic mere seconds before had to put their hands up and back away. The scene in real life was weird. The air itself was anxious. 

From her point of view Sansa could see that Davos’ box had sadly cracked on the lid. Margaery’s box was a little wobbly, but still held. The decoration was gorgeous.

Sansa watched as everyone took their biscuit boxes up to be judged. Jon’s was good, but the flavors were a little unbalanced. They _loved_ the flavors of Oberyn’s box, as well as the decoration. He had decorated it with his daughter’s favorite hobbies. 

The judges were disappointed with Davos’ cracked lid but enjoyed the flavor of his biscuits. Gendry’s bake was too ambitious for the judges, his biscuit fire truck was sloppily decorated. 

When Sansa took her biscuit box up, her hands were shaky, so Brienne came and helped her carry it. They set it in front of the judges and Sansa took a few steps back, and just stared. 

They opened the box and pulled out a few of the macarons. Varys cut into the lid, so he and Cersei could try it. Then they tried the macarons. As they ate them, Sansa tried to judge their facial expressions. They were blank. 

Then Varys began to nod, “This is very good Sansa. You manage to balance the flavors well. I love the snap of the gingerbread as well.”

Cersei made a face before continuing, “This is good. The macarons are a good mix, they aren’t too dry like most people make macarons.”

Jaime and Brienne were looking at their bake too. “Are all your siblings really this redheaded?” Jaime asked. 

Sansa laughed, “Yes we are. And yes, I’m really that much taller than my sister.”

The tent filled with polite laughter. Arya was gonna kill her. The judges allowed her to take her biscuit box back to her bench. Afterwards she ate a little bit of it, just to test it.

After the judges went back to discuss who would get Star Baker and who would be leaving the tent, the bakers left the tent to visit with each other and sit with their nerves. They brought their bakes with them so everyone could taste each other’s. 

Sansa went immediately for Margaery’s, how did she know what Sansa’s favorite flavors were? “Can I have a tea bag?”

“Of course you can!” Margaery said, and held out her box. Sansa tried her delicious earl grey biscuits. “Can I have a macaron?”

“Of course you can!” Sansa held her own box out and let her grab one. 

They sat together as they ate, with Shireen sharing the couch with them. Margaery was looking at Sansa’s box, “Are your siblings really that redheaded?”

“Bran and Robb’s hair are darker shades of red, but there was no way I was going to mix out entirely different reds just to get the shade right. But yeah we all have red hair, except Arya. How many siblings do you have?”

“I have three older brothers, my parents saved the best for last,” Margaery said dramatically. 

Sansa laughed before turning to Shireen, “Do you have any siblings?”

“No, it’s just me and my father,” Shireen answered. 

“I guess that could be fun. Isn’t it nice being away at school?” Margaery asked.

Shireen shrugged, “I guess. It doesn't quite feel like getting away yet."

Sansa and Margaery made eye contact over Shireen's ducked head. “Well, stick to it, it’s worth it,” Sansa said. 

“Oh I’ll definitely stick to it. I’m glad I’m going.”

The conversation was cut short by Myrcella and Podrick announcing that it was time for everyone to get back into the tent, and face the judges.

Now situated on the benches, the bakers faced the judges once again. Sansa was sitting between Jon and Gendry. Margaery was sat on the other side of Gendry. 

Almost everyone was holding hands while the judges and hosts walked in. They stood in front of the bakers, Jaime and Brienne looking hesitant. 

Jaime talks first, “This week I get the privilege of announcing who the star baker is. This star baker impressed the judges with their flavors and snaps. Your star baker is...Oberyn!”

Everyone clapped and cheered for Oberyn and while Sansa was happy for him she was...sad. She got first in the technical and good reviews on the showstopper and signature. Oberyn got second in technical and similar reviews for both showstopper _and_ signature. Sansa clapped and cheered for Oberyn, but still felt disappointed.

After the clapping died down Brienne began to speak, “Now I have the rotten job of announcing who has to go home this week. It gets harder every time. Sadly, we have to say Goodbye to Gendry.”

Sansa and Margaery crushed him in a hug between them, both of them telling him encouraging things. He simply gave a smile and acknowledged nod, “I knew it.”

Everyone was going around and hugging each other and shaking hands. Sansa would prove she was a _great_ baker next week.

Sansa was in the hotel lobby, waiting to head to the train station, when Gendry passed her she ran up to meet him. “Hey Gendry.”

“Hey Sansa.”

“I have a weird question.”

He looked confused, “Shoot.”

“Would you like Arya’s number? I asked her last night if it was okay that I offered it to you and she called me a long list of expletives, but for her that usually means okay.”

Gendry laughed, but blushed faintly, “Yeah I would like her number.”

“Good,” Sansa smiled and sent him her sister's contact. After they said their goodbyes Margaery rushed behind Sansa.

“What’re you doing?” Margaery asked.

“Playing matchmaker.”

“Ooh, a wedding planner and a matchmaker. A jack of all trades.”

“Y’know, matchmaking seems like something you’d enjoy doing.”

“Ugh, you’re so right. I love it.”

Sansa laughed, glad she had Margaery at least slightly pegged. “What’re your plans for this week?”

“A lot of practicing and a lot of working. Hey actually! What time do you get on Friday’s?” Margaery asked

“Early enough for whatever you have planned.”

“Do you want to come see the flower shop? I told my Grandmother you’re a wedding planner and she wants to meet you.”

“The queen of roses wants to meet me? Of course! And I guess I get to see you too.”

Margaery laughed, “I’ll text you the details then, see yeah next Friday.”

“See yeah.” 

Sansa watched as Margaery walked away, with a giddy smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you guys liked it please consider leaving a kudos or a comment :)!!!! Also I made [Sansa playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQ5cqg0aWK9H9qqXdwdFgQHE-MOltGjwX) if anyone wants to listen to it!! thank you for reading! <3


	3. Episode Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really hope you guys enjoy this chapter!! i'm so sorry it's so late, i had a lot of things happen in my personal life that made me not have a lot of motivation for writing in general, but especially a story this long! please enjoy the two leading ladies first non-tent outing <3

Sansa knew she looked good, she always looked good. The question was if she looked  _ good _ . Meet the  _ grandma _ good? 

She had no reason to consider meeting the grandma important. This wasn’t a date. Wait. Why was she thinking about dates? Did this mean something?

Sansa tried to ignore the questions swirling in her head as she found Jon and Tormund on the train. Tormund gave a teasing wolf whistle for her and she laughed. The goal was to look good, so she was glad he agreed.

“Hello gentleman,” Sansa said as she sat down, smiling widely.

Jon repeated hello back to her, while Tormund wiggled his eyebrows, “Why are you so dressed up Ms. Stark?”

“I’m not dressed up. Am I?”

Jon snorted. Sansa gave him a narrow side eye. At least Tormund had the decency to blatantly laugh. She rolled her eyes, “Whatever. You guys are almost just as bad as my siblings.”

Last night she had been on the phone with Robb for a couple of hours while they caught each other up on their week. Part of that catching up was her telling him how she had plans with Margaery today. Of course, once one sibling knew something, they all knew it. Unless, of course, you talked to her or Bran. They were excellent secret keepers. 

Jon just shook his head, “I can’t even imagine having four siblings.”

“It’s not exactly a walk in the park but I wouldn’t trade them for anything. Well, not anymore.”

“Not anymore?” Tormund asked.

“Me and my little sister used to hate each other. Just absolutely hate each other. Fight all the time. We were both brats about different things when we were kids. I got to admit - I was a bit of a bitch. But as we got older we got over our differences. Do your daughters ever fight Tormund?”

“Oh, do I have stories for you two about daughters fighting…”

For the rest of the train ride Sansa and Tormund swapped stories of horrible fights between girls who just didn’t know how to deal with each other. Jon laughed along even if he couldn’t relate at all.

Eventually, they pulled up to the Highgarden stop and Sansa said her goodbyes. She got off the train and began looking for Margaery at the station. She spotted her waving at her wildly from the other end. She took her bag and quickly made her way to her.

Sansa was slightly surprised by Margaery throwing her arms around her but she was quick to return the hug. When Margaery took a step back she smirked, “Are you ready to meet my grandmother? She’s a bit intense.”

“With you by my side? Bring her on.” 

Sansa was shocked by how nice the Tyrell flower store was. Of course, she shouldn’t have been. Olenna Tyrell seemed exactly like the type to have an extravagant flower shop in the middle of a city known for its gorgeous flowers.

Margaery called for her grandmother as Sansa admired the view. She loved Northern flowers but this place was simply gorgeous and she couldn’t drag her eyes away.

Olenna Tyrell herself walked through one of the doors that was towards the back of the large showroom, “You know better than to yell for an old woman Margaery, next time just come and find me.”

Margaery smiled goodnaturedly at her Grandmother’s scolding and motioned for Sansa to join them. Sansa smiled as she approached Olenna and held out her hand to shake Olenna’s. She had half a mind to jokingly bow to the Queen of Roses but wasn’t sure if the older woman would appreciate it. Olenna shook her hand firmly and Sansa shook hers right back.

Olenna smiled at the way Sansa shook her hand and looked at Margaery, “My granddaughter told me you’re a wedding planner.”

“I am, Mrs. Tyrell,” Sansa replies, looking at Margaery herself now. What else had Margaery said about her? “She said I should come and see the greatest flower shop in all of Westeros.”

“Well, she was right about that dear. And please call me Olenna, if we’re going to be working together.”

“We’re going to be working together?”

“Of course! Didn’t Margaery tell you? She sent me your wedding website and I think you’re the perfect person to plan my grandson’s wedding to his fiancé.”

Sansa was taken aback. She had just gotten here and was overwhelmed with information already. Olenna wanted her to plan her grandson’s wedding? Was this the plan all along? Did Margaery invite her because she wanted her to plan her brother’s wedding? Was that the  _ only _ reason she invited her?

“Really? Thank you!”

“Leonette loves winter weddings and Garlan loves anything she loves. You seem to only do winter themed weddings?”

“Yes, I’m from the North, winter weddings tend to be the only kind of weddings we have.”

Olenna turned and looked at Sansa, making eye contact with her. Sansa held it. Olenna was an older woman with even older money, Sansa was impressed that Olenna was even entertaining the idea of Sansa planning her grandson’s wedding, but Sansa had also known women like her all her life. Breaking her eye contact would have been a sign of weakness. 

Olenna smiled after a few moments, “Well, that’s true isn’t it.”

“Where do Leonette and Garlan want to be married? At Highgarden? Or a destination wedding?”

“You’d have to ask them, I’d prefer them do it at Highgarden but you can never tell with those two, they don’t stand much on ceremony.”

“I understand that, I used to not stand on Northern ceremonies, but now I think someday I’d like to get married at Winterfell.”

“Winterfell is a lovely place, I do enjoy the grounds.”

“So do I, now that I’ve had my fill of the South.”

“Hmm, sounds like there’s a story there,” Olenna looked her over and raised her eyebrows.

Once again, Sansa didn’t respond, simply letting what Olenna said sit there, simmering.

That was when Margaery stepped up, she had let the two of them talk, since it had been business after all, but now that it had gotten personal she stepped up. “Grandmother, I was going to take Sansa around town a bit before we have to get to the hotel. Can we store our bags in the back?”

“Oh yes, go ahead. It was nice to meet you Ms. Stark,” Olenna gave her a slight nod and then walked away from the two of them, disappearing into the flowers that surrounded them. 

Sansa turned to face Margaery fully, “What just happened?” She wasn’t upset, just absolutely shocked by that entire conversation.

She had to admit, she was still slightly stuck on the fact that this entire visit seemed to be a business venture. Is that really why Margaery wanted her here? 

Margaery rolled her eyes, “I have no idea. I didn’t even know Garlan and Leonette were  _ looking _ for wedding planners. She seems like the type to do it all herself. So please don’t be upset if they don’t call you.”

“I have plenty of my own customers, I’m afraid I don’t need your Grandmother to find any for me.”

Margaery raised her eyebrows, “Well good for you.”

“You said you wanted to go somewhere?”

“Yes! I remember at some point you mentioned you hadn’t been to Highgarden since you were a little girl, so I thought I might show you around a little bit. If you want.”

“I would love that.”

Sansa and Margaery left the flower shop, arms looped together. Margaery tugged them all around their area in town, to all the cute little shops she thought Sansa might like and they snacked on pastries that they both knew they would be able to bake better than any shop ever could. Usually Sansa spent her Friday nights stressed, holed up in her own hotel room. But this week she got to run around Highgarden with Margaery. They both barely made it back to Olenna’s flower shop just in time to grab their bags and run to catch a cab. 

It made Sansa feel the way she felt in school, when she and her friends would go all around Wintertown on a Friday afternoon and end up at the diner up the street at the end of the night. There was a real feeling of camaraderie there, and Sansa was more than happy that she and Margaery had met and managed to recreate it.

During the cab ride to the hotel, Sansa started making a pinterest board for Garlan and Leonette’s wedding with Margaery’s input. Even if she didn’t end up planning it she liked to be prepared. When they were dropped off at the hotel and Margaery paid, despite Sansa arguing against it, the driver gave them a wink, “Have a nice night tonight ladies.”

Sansa and Margaery got out of the cab and started to laugh. Did he think they were together? Sansa had no idea why the idea filled her stomach with butterflies. The two women gave each other a smile before finally entering the hotel, neither talking about what was just implied.

No matter how long she had this job, Myrcella was always exhausted when she did the morning interviews. Pod and her were hopped up on caffeine most of the time, but still. Tiring. Her hair was a mess and she hadn’t gotten a chance to do her make-up yet. Neither of those things bothered  _ her _ , but her mother would definitely have something to say about it. 

Of course the “messiness” of her appearance was made even more apparent when Sansa and Margaery stepped on set. She had no idea how those two always managed to look so nice and put together, even when they were baking in the heat. Their appearance had definitely been noticed by some of the crew and the contestants, but they seemed to be wrapped up in each other most of the time. When they weren’t talking to each other they spent a lot of time with other Northerners (Sansa) or Oberyn and Shireen (Margaery). Shireen seemed to look up to the women a lot, they had caught a lot of their interactions on camera. 

Sansa was led away by Podrick to do her interview so Margaery walked up to Myrcella and situated herself in front of the interview tree. She gave the camera a smile like she was born to sit in front of it and Myrcella almost laughed. 

Myrcella wanted to get the ball rolling so she could get through all of her interviews, “Okay so it’s bread week. Nervous?”

“Honestly? Yeah. I don’t like to admit it when I’m nervous, but there’s definitely some nerves happening.”

“What did you do to prepare for the week?”

“I baked whenever I wasn’t working, I also picked breads I would want for myself, there’s no point in making something I wouldn’t want to eat. I brought ingredients from my brother Willas’ expansive garden at home. I don’t think he even knows I have them.”

Myrcella laughed at that, of course Margaery stole things from her brother’s garden. “Who do you think is your biggest competition this week?”

That question seemed to stump Margaery for a second, which was hard to do, “I’m not sure. Old Nan has probably been baking the longest, and it makes sense that she would have made a lot of bread. But Sansa has an eye for details, so she’ll probably do good in the technical. I think Oberyn is a wildcard who might surprise us.”

“You seem to know a lot about Sansa’s eye for detail,” Myrcella says, mostly teasing but she also wants to hear what Margaery has to say. 

“Don’t wedding planners  _ have _ to have eyes for details? After her and my grandmother talked about planning my brother Garlan’s wedding she was already making a pinterest board that night.”

“When was this?”

“Oh,” Margaery looks like she had gotten caught with a secret. Huh. “Well last night Sansa stopped by my grandmother’s flower shop on the way down here, every good wedding planner needs a good florist.”

“Right you are. Thank you Margaery!”

Margaery smiled as she walked away and gave a small wave as she left. Her and Sansa met in the middle between their two interview stations and immediately began talking. Myrcella needed to talk to Pod, they needed to figure out what was going on between the two women.

Sansa rolled her shoulders while the bakers in the tent waited for the judges and hosts to enter. She seemed to be even more nervous then she usually was. She shook out her hands underneath the table. 

“You doing okay Sansa?” Oberyn asked kindly behind her.

She turned to face him slightly, “I will be when we finally get started and I won’t be able to focus on anything but baking. What about you?”

Oberyn smiled, “My Ellaria made me practice over and over again just so she could eat it all, so I think I’ve practiced enough.”

“I think my brother is just happy I’m supplying his pregnant girlfriend with as much sweets as she could want.”

Oberyn laughed softly and so did Sansa. Podrick motioned for both of them to look to the front, so hopefully that meant the action would happen soon. 

Soon enough it did, and the regular group filed in. Brienne’s smile was as welcoming as always, while Jaime seemed to look a little two gleeful for what week it was. Varys and Cersei weren’t smiling.

“Welcome to the dreaded bread week bakers!” Jaime started

Brienne continued, “To start off your challenges Varys and Cersei would like you all to make twelve and half  _ identical _ teacakes. And something to eat them with of course.”

“You all have two hours and forty-five minutes. Use them wisely.”

“On your marks…”

“Get set!”

“Bake!” They both yelled with over exaggerated deep voices. 

Sansa took one last deep breath. She was going to kill this.

It wasn’t long before Cersei and Varys, as well as Brienne, found their way to Sansa’s bench. She smiled best she could, while she was mixing in the water slowly to her dough, to get it the consistency she wanted. She had rolled her sleeves up, and had her hair up as well. Nothing was going to get in her way. 

As she took in the people standing in front of her she almost laughed. How was the most physically imposing one, Brienne, the least intimidating? Still, Sansa was a Lady of the North through and through, Southerners didn’t scare her. And if they did, then they didn’t need to know that. 

“Good morning!” She managed to say.

“Hello Sansa,” Varys said. “What are you making?”

“I’m making cranberry and cinnamon teacakes!” 

“Are those popular in the North?” Cersei asked, her nose slightly upturned. 

“They’re fairly popular. I only started making them after one of the vendors I usually shop with at the farmer’s market suggested another booth where there were delicious cranberries. After I introduced them to my brother's girlfriend at the beginning of her pregnancy they’re the only teacakes I make.”

Cersei simply hummed after Sansa’s long-winded answer while Varys gave her a nod. Brienne hung back for a couple of seconds after the other two had walked away, “Good luck.”

Good luck? Gods, did she seem like she needed luck?

While Sansa was having a mini crisis, on the other side of the tent Myrcella and Jaime were having a whispered conversation away from the cameras.

An exhausting two and three-quarter hours were coming to a close, with Sansa desperate to get everything plated just the way she wanted it. She had already glazed her tea cakes with her butter, sugar, and cinnamon mix and now she just wanted to get her jam into the cute little jar she brought with her. It looked like a little honey jar and she, personally, thought it was adorable.

She finally got her jam into the jar, and then she moved onto putting her tea cakes in the basket she brought as well. Never let it be said that Sansa didn’t know how to make everything she did aesthetic. She was going for picnic vibes so picnic vibes they would get. 

As Jaime and Brienne yelled for them to stop Sansa took a major step back, to avoid the temptation, and tried to subtly look around her. Margaery’s blueberry tea cakes looked perfect, of course they did. Lyanna’s presentation was a little sloppy but that didn’t say anything about the quality of her bake. 

The producers allowed for a moment of cool down before the judging began. That moment of cool down almost made Sansa’s anxiety flare up again. Who was she kidding, her anxiety level never went down in the first place. Since the bakers were allowed to roam for a few minutes, Old Nan put her hand on her shoulder. She gave her a kind smile, “Deep breaths sweet girl. You’re gonna kick ass.”

Hearing Old Nan curse startled Sansa into laughter, “Right back at you.” The bakers were soon told to return to their benches and so Sansa went, but took those deep breaths Old Nan suggested.

Bread week made the judgings harsher. Sansa could tell. There was at least one complaint for each baker. One thing they could improve on. It did nothing to fix Sansa’s nerves. Cersei found Shae’s bread too spicy, what a shock, and if Jaime’s surprised cough was anything to go by, he agreed with the sentiment. Varys and Cersei both agreed that Davos’ dough was underbaked and he seemed so disappointed. Sansa tried to give him a reassuring smile, she saw Jon whisper something to him.

Lyanna made Nordic teacakes - a true Northern traditional bake. Sansa hoped that these Southern judges would like it. She crossed her fingers. It was silent in the tent after the first bite, until Varys offered Lyanna his hand to shake. She gaped at him but immediately returned it. Tormund wolf whistled as Sansa let out a whoop of her own. The judges spoke to Lyanna for a few moments but as soon as they walked up, she did her own little fistpump, looked at one of the cameras, and did the rock-n-roll hand sign and stuck out her tongue. It made the rest of the tent laugh, and even Varys seemed to enjoy the display. 

The judges approached Sansa next and she offered a tentative smile. Varys gave her one back, while Cersei simply looked at her. They both tore into one of her perfectly shaped tea cakes and began to eat it, once without the jam and once with. Cersei wrinkled her nose, “While the texture is good I don’t think your cranberries were distributed well. I find the cinnamon quite overwhelming, maybe due to a lack of other flavors.”

Sansa’s heart sank when Varys gave a small nod, “I agree about the cranberries but I find the level of cinnamon fine. I don’t think it was overwhelming. You probably could have proved for a bit longer. These didn’t make the bake awful, but it’s definitely not your best work.”

That seemed to deflate Sansa. Varys and Cersei moved on but not before Jaime gave Sansa a genuine smile and a pat on the shoulder, as if trying to console her. 

Both Margaery and Oberyn get decent reviews on their bakes, actually, Varys loved the freshness of Margaery’s bake and Cersei thought there was an appropriate amount of alcohol in Oberyn’s cocktail teacakes. 

After all the judging was done they were allowed to leave the tent to the group seating area so they could eventually do their interviews. Before Sansa had time to be truly self deprecating Lyanna swept up beside her, “These Southerners don’t know what they’re talking about. I thought your cranberries were perfectly mixed.”

Sansa laughed, “Okay Miss Handshake, thanks for the reassurance.” 

Lyanna reminded Sansa so much of Arya and Rickon it was funny. She almost wanted to introduce the group to each other, just to see what would happen. Lyanna had laughed too and then ran off to join Shireen and Tormund by the lawn chairs, probably to bully Tormund for getting a handshake faster than him. 

Since Sansa had her own basket of teacakes she ate one for herself. She was more upset that the cranberry comment was correct. They _ could _ have been better distributed. The cinnamon was good though. Now all she needed to do was get out of her own head before the Technical.

Podrick was given the task of interviewing Shae before the Technical, and he felt bad since she had gotten unkind remarks about her teacakes.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Did you think your teacakes were too spicy?”

Shae rolled her eyes but didn’t look annoyed with  _ him _ , “If I thought they were too spicy I wouldn’t have made them. But, am I surprised the Lannisters couldn’t handle the spice? No. No I am not.”

Podrick snorted. “Are you looking forward to the technical?”

“Is anyone? It’s bread week.”

“Fair. Well, good luck Shae.”

Shae smiled at him and it almost swept him off his feet, she was really pretty. “Thank you, but I won’t need it.” She said it with enough confidence Podrick almost missed the tense set of her shoulders.

Jaime faced the rows of nervous bakers, alongside Brienne. While they prepared to make their introduction of the technical, he tried to keep Myrcella’s words in mind.

Jaime starts, “Okay bakers! It’s time for your technical challenge which has been set to you by Varys. Any words of wisdom Varys?”

“We expect perfection,” Varys replied.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Brienne grimace at Varys’s awful advice. 

“No pressure,” Brienne says. “Since this is to be baked blind you two need to leave.”

“They’re off to a drag race. Get performance tips,” Jaime laughed. “Okay now that they’re gone, Varys wants you to make a cottage loaf. The cottage loaf history dates back hundreds of years, to a time we call PM. Pre-Mixer. So you will have to knead your dough by hand.”

“You have two and a half hours. On your marks…”

“Get set…”

“Bake!”

Jaime and Brienne were told to wait for the bakers to get going before they try to talk to them. Jaime couldn’t help but laugh as the bakers work through their frustrations. 

The distinct voice of Shae raises above all the others, “I am going to make this bread, and this challenge, my bitch.” Jaime laughs long and hard, and laughs even harder when he sees Brienne’s face. 

Sansa put her hands in her head while waiting for the bread to finish proving. These instructions were so vague, and she was quite annoyed with them in all honesty. He couldn’t have done them any favors? 

Jaime and Brienne approached her bench to interrupt her well deserved pouting. “Not a fan of bread week?” Brienne asks.

“It isn’t my favorite, no,” Sansa responds. She doesn’t want to be remembered as a pouter so she tries to perk up, “I loved the history lesson by the way. My brother Bran is getting a degree in Westerosi History.”

Jaime perked up as well, “Really? It’s a fascinating subject.”

Sansa laughed, “To each their own I suppose.” Brienne snorted at that and then she and Jaime were off to the next bench with hurried wishes of good luck. 

Before Jaime left he turned to her and quickly said, “Perk up Stark. You’re good at this.” Sansa tried to take his words to heart. 

When her dough was twice its original size it was time for her to shape it and bake it. She measured out her two sections, and weighed them. She couldn’t help but laugh at what was being said around her as people had to shape their dough. 

Jon to her left, “You don’t want wonky balls.” He immediately grimaced. 

Behind her, Oberyn asked, cheekily, if he needed to oil his fingers. Old Nan responded, “Oh Oberyn, my darling, you always need to oil your fingers.” That caused laughter throughout the tent since both of them were quite loud. 

Sansa made sure to push her fingers in the dough to get the right shape, but she didn’t have much time left to bake. She didn’t pull her bread out of the oven until 30 seconds were left. She just felt so defeated and exhausted. 

There was a sinking feeling of anxiety in her stomach as she placed her bread on the gingham up front.

The judgings were brutal. Sansa placed sixth.  _ Sixth _ . It felt horrible after doing so good at technicals before. Usually after the day everyone would go out together, to a pub of some sort, but after the day she had today Sansa then she earned herself a good sulk. After she has a good soak of course, in the tub she thankfully has in her hotel room. 

She takes her bath and then sits on the bed in her room while still wearing her robe. She feels ridiculous. The catastrophizing needed to stop but she didn’t know how. Everyone but her and Shireen had gone out tonight and she wasn’t about to go harass the 18 year old with her problems. 

Sansa took a deep breath and pulled out her phone. Don’t tell anyone how it’s going be damned, she needed a Robb pep talk. She broke down into tears much earlier in the conversation than she wanted to. He reminded her that she was not just her worst bakes, she was her best as well. And she had the whole army of Starks had her back, so tomorrow she needed to put today aside and just do her best. Besides, it sounded to him like Cersei was jealous of something. 

Of course, she had cried for a good majority of the conversation but at the end of it she felt much better. Sometimes letting your feelings out made the whole day wash away. She washed her face to prepare to go to bed, but after she finished, still in her robe, there was a knock on her door. When she opened it, Margaery and Old Nan were on the other side.

“We brought you chips, as a pick me up,” Old Nan said with a smile.

Margaery held out a take-out box and smiled as well, “I know a thing or two about internalizing criticisms more than you maybe should.  _ You _ liking your bakes is the most important thing.”

Despite feeling absolutely cried out, Sansa feels her eyes well with tears. “Thank you both so much,” she said as she reached for the box. 

Old Nan gives her a hug, and she sinks into it. It felt like being hugged by her grandmother. When the women pulled away from each other, Sansa’s eyes were still wet but she refrained from crying. Then Margery opened her eyes and Sansa fell into them. They hugged for a few moments and when Sansa pulled away she noticed a blush on Margaery’s cheeks but she really wasn’t in the mindset to consider what that meant. 

She was left alone with her chips after the hugs and she had to admit the other women were right. This was the best pick me up food, and she didn’t even care how much grease she was consuming.

It was time for Sansa to put aside the disaster that was yesterday, she knew she had to be in the talks as the one to go home but she refused to admit defeat. She didn’t come here to lose. As soon as Brienne and Jaime announced that the bakers had the go ahead she dove in with confidence. 

Today was her day. She was a Stark. Starks weren’t phased by Southern judgments. They  _ thrived _ off of them. Actually, who was she kidding. Of course she cared what the judges thought of her. That just meant she needed to change their minds. She could do that. 

When she was approached by the judges and hosts she was prepared for them. She was mixing the beetroot into her dough, so she could knead all her frustrations out while talking to them.

“Hello Sansa,” Jaime Lannister said, in what seemed like an attempt at charm. 

Sansa could work with charm, “Hello Jaime. What brings you to my bench today?”

“Oh you know, just trying to liven up the place.”

The two of them laughed, while Varys seemed amused. Brienne did too, but to a lesser extent. Cersei was clearly not entertaining it, “So what are you making today Sansa?”

“Well I’m going to make a picnic basket. There will be a turmeric basket, apple composte apples, and beetroot grapes. There will also be cinnamon with the apples.” 

“Cinnamon again?” Cersei asked with a raised eyebrow and a seemingly cruel eyebrow, “That didn’t work out with you the first time.”

Sansa answered with an eyebrow of her time, “If I remember correctly Varys disagreed with you on that.” The bakers around Sansa seemed to stop and stare. Cersei and Sansa were making eye contact, and holding it. Neither backing down. Eventually Sansa gave a smile she knew no one would believe, since she didn’t mean it, “Just joking. Of course.”

Cersei gave her a look over, “Of course.”

Sansa went back to kneading her own bread, trying to ignore the rush of blood in her ears. Did she really just do that? When the red in her face had gone down a suitable amount she raised her head again to be faced with other people still looking at her. Margaery looked at her with pride and her eyes, and a hint of something else. Old Nan gave a wink and mouthed, “Badass indeed.”

Badass indeed. Sansa had a feeling that badass-ery was gonna come back and bite her in her ass as soon as it was her turn to take her bread up to get judged. Margaery’s bouquet looked absolutely gorgeous, the definition on the roses was insane. The judges loved it. 

Sadly, Davos’s kraken didn’t hold up under the scrutiny. Instead of looking like a fearsome sea creature, it looked more like a sad squid. The paprika for the coloring had overshadowed everything else, even the squid ink. 

Shireen was the second to last person to be judged, and she was blushing the entire time she carried her sculpture to the front. At first Sansa was confused as to why. Then she saw her snail. And saw Jaime’s face when he saw it. That definitely didn’t help Shireen’s blush. The two went to talk at the same time, then stopped. Jaime started to laugh, which made Brienne laugh. The judges were clearly amused but trying not to laugh. Jaime was practically crying. 

“Talk a lap, Lannister,” Brienne said. And he did. Everyone’s laughter didn’t save Shireen from being judged, sadly. For the most part their comments were complimentary. But of course it was bread week so the occasional critique was there. 

Sansa carried her bread up, finally, and it felt oddly like walking to the gallows. She set it in front of the judges and they examined it, “This is quite impressive Sansa,” Varys said. 

Cersei nodded along, “I do wish the apples were a bit greener.” Sansa nodded along with her critique, it was a valid one. No more picking fights for today. 

Then the judges cut into her bread and began to eat. Varys nodded at one point, “I actually like the composte in the apples. I was prepared not to since it’s not usually my personal taste, but I enjoyed it. The basket is good work.”

“Hm, I have to agree with the basket. It held up excellently while baking,” Cersei said.

“Thank you,” Sansa said, surprised at how kind they were. Maybe she was safe. 

Before too long all the bakers were lined up on their benches at the front of the tent once again. 

“This week,” Brienne begins, “I have the wonderful job of announcing Star Baker. Our Star Baker is someone who knows their way around a traditional bake, in more ways than once. She has the fierceness of the animal her island is named after, it’s Lyanna.”

Everyone clapped and cheered for her, while Jon who was beside her wrapped her into a side hug. 

“That means I have the awful bit of announcing who has to go home,” Jaime said, pausing for effect, “and this week, sadly, it’s Davos.”

As soon he makes his announcement everyone is getting up and giving each other hugs. Sansa and Cersei choose to not even get close to each other, but Jaime does hug Sansa. When he does she stands a little on her tip-toes to whisper, “I don’t who set you up to it Mr. Charmer, but I am a lesbian.”

Jaime laughed, “That would be my dear niece’s fault.” Sansa laughed at that and went on to hug everyone else. Again, her hug with Margaery felt like she just fell into the older woman’s arms. They seemed to fit together. And based on how intense their eye contact was when they pulled away, Sansa wasn’t the only one feeling it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was heavily based off of the Bread week episode where Julia made the [rude looking snail](https://www.buzzfeed.com/scottybryan/julia-made-a-bake-that-kinda-looked-like-a-penis)
> 
> I hope you'll forgive me for being a little mean to Sansa this week, everyone has an off-week, but she'll be back to her baking prowess in no time

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading! If you enjoyed it please leave a kudos or comment!! feel free to follow me on [tumblr!](https://persephonerights.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Also if you want to read my (much shorter and simpler) Brancella GBBO AU you can do that [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20741786/chapters/49280999) <3


End file.
